SACRAMENTO -- A Santa Clara County lawmaker's proposal that would allow the county to keep $1 million in funds for programs targeting runaway or homeless youth met with approval Tuesday as it was unanimously moved forward by a state senate committee.

State Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, put forth SB 347 as a means to hold onto the money that the county received in 1990 to build a youth shelter in San Jose. It was part of $500 million in bonds voters approved in 1988 in the interest of helping counties build new facilities for at-risk young people.

But when the county changed its model of sheltering kids -- opting for placement within family settings rather than a large residential facility -- the need for the home waned as fewer children spent less time there before getting placed elsewhere. It was a movement mirrored around the country, as youth advocates pointed out the dangers of harboring large groups of troubled kids in a single facility. The Santa Clara County facility was no exception, and a 2003 investigation by this newspaper reported that violence was a daily occurrence.

Most of the 132-bed facility was closed in 2009, becoming an intake center before being sold last year. According to the 1988 proposition, the original $1 million was to be returned to the state upon the shelter's sale.

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Beall's bill aims to eliminate that requirement.

"Senate Bill 347 enables Santa Clara County to pump more money into the services that will help children and young adults who have nowhere to go and stay safe," he said in a statement.

The bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Beall represents District 15, which includes Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and parts of San Jose.